May 15, 2003

Putty in my hands

They call their product "Thinking Putty" and it's basically big chunks of silly putty. Is it just me, or does the idea of huge chunks of glow-in-the-dark putty, and even magnetic putty make anyone else long for the stuff?

I've seen exercise putty before. It's used to strengthen the hands of people recovering from injuries, and also just folks who want better grip strength. (I've seen Rui and others use a product called Power Putty for climbing strength.) It's a good activity for those with motor control issues to squeeze the putty, and strengthen those muscles. This "Thinking Putty" is geared more for fun and stress relief. I want some!

And, to add to the coolness, these guys have links to a site offering neodymium iron boron magnets. It's called gaussboys.com. I'm drooling here.

I have one very strong neodymium magnet that I use for all sorts of fun, but I lost my smaller ones. Why do I need more? Well, if you like to put things on your fridge, you need to get rid of your wimpy magnets and get some neodymium ones. Forget putting your daughter's picture of a cat on the fridge - put the cat itself up there! (Kids, don't try this at home. Demonstration purposes only. Void where prohibited by law. Closed track, professional driver. No cats were harmed in this suggestion. I am only kidding.)

The Thinking Putty guys are a fun bunch. Check out their page of fun stuff to do. Freezing putty and hitting it with a hammer, dropping it from heights, writing with light... and goofier.

BTW - anyone have a really good recipe for making similar putty with borax? This Thinking Putty incorporates borax, but it's a little more complicated than the home recipe. I wonder if I could just make this stuff in bulk. Problem is, I want it firmer than what I've seen that borax recipe produce.